New to Lampworking, Pointers, etc?

[DieselPitty]

Hi, I'm new to the lampworking and currently go to a friends house to get in any torch time. He has a fair amount of equipment he gained over the years. I'm wondering what your guys opinion on start up tools/equipment would be for me. Obviously a torch along with fuel and glass are necessities, but I am tight on money currently so I will be saving up slowly to get everything. If you were in my situation, how would you prioritize the tools and equipment? I appreciate any and all advice. I've loved the little bit of lamp working I've done so far, and can't wait to learn more, and expand my knowledge and abilities. Gotta start somewhere!

[Eileen]

Ventilation so you are not breathing fumes.
Eye protection made for working with molten glass, to protect your vision but also let you see what you are doing in the flame.
A way to cool your beads to keep them from cracking, preferably a kiln but at least a fiber blanket, or annealing bubbles or vermiculite in a Crock-Pot until you can get them annealed properly.
A graphite marver to help shape your beads.
A knife type tool comes in handy, can be from the thrift store.
Mandrels and bead release.

[ESC]

A lot of my tools in the beginning were kitchen tools I found at the thrift store. Cheese grater, egg slicer, paring knife, hot plate or cup warmer for millis or rod warming, cheap tweezers from the cheapo tool store, sharpened mandrel for raking/poking tool.

[EmeryLawson]

I agree with others here. Start with good basics for the torch, ventilation, and a kiln then you can add on later. I stayed with a single-fuel torch so I could get a kiln so I would know that my beads would survive.

[queenofsheba52]

Hi Diesel and welcome to The Addiction.

Agree with everything here so far. I stayed on a Hot Head until I had saved up enough $ for a kiln. Watch our Garage Sale for flameworking glasses and other easily mailed supplies.

You may be wondering about Devardi Glass due to their inexpensive prices. Do check here on LE for some reviews before you invest. Personally, I have several Devardi colors because I like them, but they are very shocky.

I have had lots of fun with just ivory, white, black and red glass colors -- you don't need dozens of colors to start.

Good luck and I'll be watching for your posts!
--Helene

[Sue in Maine]

Beginners advice:

1) Don't play with pinks yet unless you use Gelly's pinks. Rubino is expensive and too much heat and you lose the color. Other pinks turn brown with too much heat.

2) Avoid Anice White for now. I love it but unless you like "frit on a stick," wait till you have good heat control and always warm it up in your kiln before using.

3) PPP - the dreaded practice, practice, practice... man, we all get sick of hearing it! (lol)

4) Fun colors to start with are turquoise and ivory due to the chemical reaction between the colors. You look like you're working with 3 colors and you will impress yourself!

5) IMPORTANT: Ventillation.... and a kiln to anneal. VENTILLATION comes first.

6) LE HINT: at the top of your LE page, you should see a red line of topics. They go like this (on my computer anyway): User CP FAQ Members List/RAOGK... go over to SEARCH. Click on the drop down to the right of it and type in any topic you want to research. MANY newbie questions have already got long threads with great information.

7) RAOGK= Random Acts of Glass Kindness. Click on this and add yourself to the list. You never know what your post office will turn up in a package!!!

Should have said this first but: WELCOME!!!



Sue

[Speedslug]

Welcome to the addiction!

[Lorraine Chandler]

Lampworking is very expensive to do it safely which is also the right way IMHO.

Just the kiln, proper ventilation, a entry level torch like an Alpha, oxygen and fuel supply will set you back $1200-$2000 easy

Here is a link to a post that kinda explains what a noob goes through.

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=122124

[Snakebite69]

Hi I am kinda new to this too... to hold your glass use PVC piping cut it in the lenths you want and duct tape them together to Hold Your Glass...

[Eileen]

I have mine stored in the PVC too, and also some in fence rail sections. The fence rail section have interior dividers, so there are three holes in each piece. I do like that they are rectangular and stack easily. Depending on the type you get, it is either 3 equal sized holes, or 2 smaller and one larger.

[bshelle]

You've gotta get the right glasses. Are you working boro or soft glass?
For tools, grab some tweezers from Harbor Freight and a graphite paddle. There's a few paddles on Ebay.

Here's a link to some tweezers: https://www.harborfreight.com/6-pc-f...set-93598.html

If you want to make beads on mandrels, you'll have to get some mandrels. You can get welding rod cut an burr the ends, or you can pick up a bunch from this awesome seller on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lampwork-lo...8AAOSwxCxT-Rdc

I think you can do a ton with just heat and gravity. Your biggest expense after a kiln and torch, and setting up your ventilation system, would probably be for now proper eyewear. You just gotta pay the piper on eyewear.

Welcome to the addiction!

[tassiebeads]

Check out the library or second hand bookshops for books on lampwork, I found these to be really helpful when I was starting out.

[bshelle]

Youtube too, is your friend.

[Winter Fire]

A very good exercise to do when you're starting out is to do Heather Trimlett's 40-Bead Project. You can find it here: http://www.heathertrimlett.com/40-bead-project/ or here: https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...1-0-5-2012.pdf.

You'll need two contrasting colors of glass but you won't need tools for this project, it's just heat and gravity.

Here's the Soda Lime Times article about it: https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...ad-Project.pdf. You'll see my turquoise and ivory beads in the article--they look pretty gawdawful to me now, but the project really did help me improve my skills.

[EmeryLawson]

Originally Posted by bshelle

Youtube too, is your friend.

Wish YouTube had been around when I started. I second this it is great for being able to watch techniques!

[Michrmt]

I'm a newbie too, thanks for the info. It is a bit overwhelming